Daily Mail Australia – Greyhound-obsessed couple who wanted to walk down the aisle with their dogs are left heartbroken after one dies before the big day – but what they did next will melt your heart

Daily Mail Australia (DMA) gets 6M+ unique audience views per month and ran a story about a couple who asked for GR donations instead of wedding gifts, after one of them adopted a GR hound.

A couple who are obsessed with greyhounds have revealed why they shunned wedding presents and got their guests to donate to charity after one of their beloved dogs Marigold died before their wedding.

Rebecca Rice and Cristhian Molendowski, from Sydney’s Coogee, have always loved greyhounds long before they met one another.

And when they got engaged, they knew they wanted to incorporate their then-three dogs Samantha, Molly and Marigold into their ceremony somehow.

But tragedy struck in August 2018, when Marigold died at age 12.

A couple who are obsessed with greyhounds have revealed why they shunned wedding presents and got their guests to donate to charity after one of their beloved dogs Marigold died before their wedding (pictured with their other two dogs Samantha and Molly)

Their beloved dog Marigold (pictured) died at age 12, after the couple had got engaged and planned for the dog to walk them down the aisle

‘We always both had it clear from the beginning that ours dogs would somehow be involved with the wedding, as we consider them part of our family,’ Cris (pictured with Bec and Samantha and Molly), 38, told FEMAIL

‘We always both had it clear from the beginning that ours dogs would somehow be involved with the wedding, as we consider them part of our family,’ Cris, 38, told FEMAIL.

‘But when Marigold died, we knew it wasn’t enough to have Samantha and Molly act as flower girls and walk us down the aisle.

‘So many greyhounds have their lives cut short. The truth is that there is not much that we can do, but we must do our part.’

‘But when Marigold died, we knew it wasn’t enough to have Samantha and Molly act as flower girls and walk us down the aisle,’ Cris (pictured with Bec and the dogs) said

Cris’s love affair with greyhounds began in 2008 in Argentina, where he was working as a building supervisor and was gifted a struggling greyhound puppy named Samantha (pictured)

Cris’s love affair with greyhounds began in 2008 in Argentina, where he was working as a building supervisor and was gifted a greyhound puppy named Samantha.

‘I took Samantha home with me that very same day in an improvised cardboard box,’ he said.

‘She weighed just 2,100 grams, was full of fleas and had dry concrete in her ears and tail.’

While he wasn’t initially sure whether the puppy could walk, over time Cris built up a relationship with the dog, and so when he emigrated to Australia years later, Samantha came too.

‘She weighed just 2,100 grams, was full of fleas and had dry concrete in her ears and tail,’ Cris said – before he later emigrated to Australia and took Samantha (pictured) with him

By the time the 38-year-old met his now-wife Bec, he was heavily involved with Greyhound Rescue charity in Australia (pictured on the wedding day)

By the time the 38-year-old met his now-wife Bec, he was heavily involved with Greyhound Rescue charity in Australia and had another rescue dog called Marigold, who came as a package deal with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Molly.

‘Over the next nine years, Marigold showed us what can’t be explained about a retired greyhound unless you adopt one,’ Cris said.

‘They’re so kind and gentle. They’re so brave, they heal and leave the past behind, so they can start a new life.’

When Cris and Bec got engaged last year, they were devastated when Marigold died soon afterwards at age 12.

‘We had wanted Marigold to walk us down the aisle and be our bridesmaid,’ Cris said.

‘By asking our wedding guests to donate to Greyhound Rescue, it was our chance to thank Marigold for all that she has meant to us.’

Cris had another rescue dog called Marigold, who came as a package deal with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Molly (Molly pictured)

In October 2019, Cris and Bec tied the knot before 60 of their closest friends in Sydney in an emotional ceremony for the couple – they asked for charity donations to Greyhound Rescue

In October 2019, Cris and Bec tied the knot before 60 of their closest friends in Sydney in an emotional ceremony for the couple:

‘It was so emotional to have Samantha by my side having lived through so many things together,’ Cris said.

‘We both migrated to Australia over a decade ago and so much has happened since then.’

The couple said it was also very personal to have Molly there, as she had had a ‘sad past’ as part of the dog fighting industry.

‘Lots of our friends and family did think the request to donate to Greyhound Rescue charity was a bit strange,’ Cris said.

‘Lots of them contacted us to check if we really wanted them to make the donation or whether we wanted something different.’

‘We have jobs, health and a home in which our dogs can sleep warmly at night,’ Cris said. ‘Not everyone is so lucky’ (bridal party pictured)

But the happy couple say they wouldn’t have had it any other way.

‘We have jobs, health and a home in which our dogs can sleep warmly at night,’ Cris said.

‘Not everyone is so lucky, and there are only a few chances in life when you can make a big donation so our guests respected it.’

Cris and Bec shared their wedding story with Easy Weddings and urged anyone who is comfortable in life to think about asking for donations instead of gifts.

‘If you have all you need, then why don’t you help someone who doesn’t?’ Cris said.

To find out more about Greyhound Rescue, you can visit the website here.